Middle East

Gaza Day of Tires: 9 Killed, 780 Wounded

April 7, 2018 Staff, Aljazeera.com Resist! Gaza, Israel, Middle East, Palestine

Israeli forces shoot dead seven Palestinians and wound hundreds more as protests near Gaza border continue. For a second week, thousands of Palestinians are protesting along the eastern borders of the Gaza Strip, as part of the Great March of Return movement. Israeli forces have killed 29 Palestinians during the past week, including 21 during and after the March 30 protests, which wounded more than 1,600 others. Eight Palestinians died on Friday, including one who succumbed to his wounds after being shot last week.

Who Calls Anyone “Civilized”?

April 5, 2018 Cathy Breen, Vcnv.org Educate! Iraq, Middle East, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism

I myself tried to write something for the 15 year “commemoration” of the US war against Iraq, but wasn’t able to complete it. It was too much for me. A couple of months ago I was invited to go to the Northwest to speak about “Fifteen Years After the War.” It was too much for me emotionally, and somewhat shamefully I had to decline. As I write, I have the phone next to me. I am texting a young Iraqi boy who is alone in Turkey. About ten months ago he was kidnapped in Iraq. Through a chain of events, he ended up in Syria. About two months ago his father was contacted and was able to get his son smuggled across the border into Turkey. Last month his son turned 18 years of age and was eligible to register as a refugee with UNHCR. But he will not get an interview for many months to come.

Saudi Arabian Prince Fails To Win Over Londoners

March 12, 2018 By Ahmad Khan, Mintpressnews.com Educate! London, Middle East, Saudi Arabia

Apolitical disease usually found in countries ruled by insecure megalomaniacs hit London this week: hello, personality cult. In the Middle East, the disease associated with regions in which stunted political growth is the norm, has a distinct characteristic. Large portraits of the ruler and members of his family adorn street furniture, buildings and office walls. Depicted in their national dress and military uniforms with blemish free, beaming smiles, the aim is to develop affection for the head of the “national family”. It’s all very benign; a kind of soft power tactic intended to legitimise autocratic rule. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman may have wished for a similar effect after blitzing Londoners with a PR campaign that must have made British politicians blush; even HM Queen Elizabeth must have had a chuckle or two, having ruled for decades without the need for such a tacky display.

Agriculture And Autonomy In The Middle East

February 14, 2018 By Sean Keller, Localfutures.org Create! Food and Agriculture, Middle East

In Rojava, a region in Syria also known as North Kurdistan, a groundbreaking experiment in communal living, social justice, and ecological vitality is taking place. Devastated by civil war, Syria is a place where a cessation of hostilities often seems like the most that can be hoped for. But Rojava has set its sights much higher. What started as a movement for political autonomy in the city of Kobane has blossomed into an attempt to build a radical pluralist democracy on the principles of communal solidarity — with food security, equality for women, and a localized, anti-capitalist economy at its core. The Mesopotamian Ecology Movement (MEM) has been at the heart of Rojava’s democratic revolution since its inception.

U.S. Spreads Chaos In The Middle East

January 27, 2018 Sara Flounders, Iacenter.org Educate! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Middle East, US Imperialism

U.S. imperialism’s deteriorating position in the Middle East was confirmed on Jan. 16 by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s bold assertion for U.S. plans in Syria. The arrogant statement was followed, within hours, by almost immediate backpedaling. Tillerson’s talk at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University confirmed that the only hope of maintaining U.S. domination is another desperate attempt to close all borders and dismember the entire region. But the latest plan has also created a rupture in NATO, the oldest and largest U.S.-commanded military alliance. Meanwhile, Turkish planes bombed 100 positions in Syria of U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG forces (the Kurdish acronym for People’s Protection Units) on Jan. 21. As the war in Syria stretches into the seventh year, Tillerson grandly announced the U.S. military will remain in Syria indefinitely.

Iranian Diplomat Charges US With Inciting Protests

January 5, 2018 Staff, Aljazeera.com Resist! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Iran, Middle East, Protests, US Imperialism

Iran has accused the US of "inciting" anti-government protests that have gripped the country, and said the Trump administration had "flouted" international law and the principles of the UN charter by supporting the unrest in a series of "absurd tweets". In a letter sent to Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general, on Wednesday, Gholamali Khoshroo, the Iranian ambassador to the UN, said the US had "crossed every limit" by "inciting Iranians to engage in disruptive acts". "[The US] has stepped up its acts of intervention in a grotesque way in Iran's internal affairs under the pretext of providing support for sporadic protests, which in several instances were hijacked by infiltrators," Press TV quoted Khoshroo as saying. He criticised US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence directly for their "numerous absurd tweets", that called on Iranians to "change their government".

Iranian Protests: Deep State’s Unfinished Business

January 5, 2018 By Tony Cartalucci, Journal-neo.org Educate! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Iran, Middle East, Protests, US Imperialism

The article – a review by the CIA’s own history staff of a book regarding Operation AJAX – admits that US policy regarding Iran merely picked up where the British Empire left off in an effort to reassert rapidly-slipping Western control over the globe. In no way was US efforts to undermine and control the government of Iran described in terms of protecting US national security or promoting democracy – and in fact was characterized instead as undermining Iranian self-determination. It is this admission that reveals the core truth of today’s tensions between Iran and the United States. The West still seeks to reassert itself and its economic interests in the Middle East. Notions of “freedom,” “democracy,” as well as threats of “terrorism,” “nuclear holocaust,” and even the ongoing conflict with nearby Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Persian Gulf States...

Kathy Kelly Says Let Yemenis Live

December 23, 2017 By Kathy Kelly, antiwar.com Educate! Anti-War, Middle East, US Imperialism, Yemen

On May 2, 2017, before becoming Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, as Minister of Defense, spoke about the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen, a war he orchestrated since March of 2015. "A long war is in our interest," he said, explaining that the Houthi rebels would eventually run out of cash, lack external supplies and break apart. Conversely, the Saudis could count on a steady flow of cash and weapons. "Time is on our side," he concluded. Powerful people in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco, Senegal and Jordan have colluded with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince to prolong the war against Yemen. The Saudis have employed Sudanese fighters from the terrifying Janjaweed militias to fight in small cities along Yemen’s coast line.

Collapse Of Israeli-Saudi-American Alliance Against Iran And Resistance

December 7, 2017 Miko Peled, informationclearinghouse.info Educate! Middle East, US Imperialism

By Miko Peled for Information Clearing House - December 04, 2017 "Information Clearing House" - From the earliest years of the Zionist project, the leaders of the movement - which then morphed into the State of Israel - understood that regional coalitions were crucial to its success. But Israel is a settler colonial project and therefor it was and still is very much hated by people in the region. Israel and its leaders invested in creating and promoting corrupt unprincipled despots to lead in the countries around it, men who would control the Arab world by keeping its people poor, uneducated and without representation and would pose no threat to Israel and its policies of genocide and ethnic cleansing perpetuated against the people of Palestine. Israel has had some degree of success in this, especially with the reactionary monarchies. Countries who had leaders that resisted Israel ended up paying a heavy price. These were states like Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya which are now destroyed and so it can come as no surprise that the new Saudi Crown Prince is bending over backwards to please Israel by referring to Iran’s supreme leader as "the new Hitler of the Middle East,” and is even preparing to take his regime’s relations with Israel to a new level, some say he even intends to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.It is ironic that some of the greatest perpetrators and supporters of terrorism are those who talk of fighting terrorism.

Rohingyas — Jihadists?

September 5, 2017 Chandra Muzaffar, www.transcend.org Educate! Ethnic conflict, Middle East

By Chandra Muzaffar for TRANSCEND Media Service - 1 Sep 2017 – The Rohingyas — or at least some Rohingyas — are now being projected as terrorists, as “Jihadists” out to kill Myanmar soldiers and civilians. Myanmar leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi have spoken along these lines. This view of the Rohingyas is being propagated by the Myanmar government with greater zeal since a small armed group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army ( ARSA) attacked security forces on 9 October 2016. These attacks have continued in recent weeks. In this new wave of violence it is alleged that 12 security personnel were killed while the Myanmar military and border police have killed 77 Rohingya Muslims. It is well-known that as a community the Rohingyas were stripped of Myanmar citizenship in 1982, deprived of basic human rights, tortured, imprisoned, and forced to flee their home province of Rakhine. This is why there are tens of thousands of Rohingyas living in squalid conditions in Bangladesh or struggling to survive in a number of countries from Malaysia to Saudi Arabia. They have been described by the UN itself as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. Simply put, the Rohingyas are the victims of a slow genocide, to quote Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen.

Yemen To Probe Alleged Interrogation Abuses By United Arab Emirates, U.S.

June 26, 2017 Ahmed Al-Haj, www.AP.org Resist! Middle East, US Foreign Policy, US Imperialism, US military, Yemen

By Ahmed Al-Haj for Associated Press - SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s internationally-recognized government on Saturday ordered the creation of a committee to investigate allegations of human rights violations, following reports that U.S. military interrogators worked with forces from the United Arab Emirates who are accused of torturing detainees in Yemen. A copy of the order issued by Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid bin Daghr was obtained by The Associated Press. It said the investigation would focus on areas liberated by government forces from Shiite rebels known as the Houthis and their allies. The six-member committee will be chaired by Justice Minister Jamal Mohamed Omar and include representatives from the Human Rights Ministry, security agencies and the prosecution. It will immediately start work and have 15 days to conclude its investigation and report back to bin Daghr. The reports of the abuses were revealed in an AP investigation published Thursday. The investigation detailed a network of secret prisons across southern Yemen where hundreds are detained in the hunt for al-Qaida militants. American defense officials said U.S. forces have interrogated some detainees in Yemen but denied any participation in, or knowledge of, human rights abuses.

Are Demands On Qatar By US Arab Allies A Sign Of Coming Attack On Iran?

June 24, 2017 Staff, www.bbc.com Educate! Iran, Middle East, US Foreign Policy

By Staff of BBC News - The stakes have just been raised, dramatically. The sanctions imposed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others two weeks ago had failed to produce the result they wanted. Qatar has remained defiant, rejecting their accusations and pulling in help from Iran and Turkey. The list of demands now being made are humiliating for Qatar - closing its flagship TV channel Al Jazeera, for example, would spell an end to a 21-year drive to put Qatar firmly on the global media map. Some Gulf commentators believe these demands may be just a starting point for negotiations but the Saudi and UAE governments are in no mood for compromise. They don't trust Qatar's word. So if there really is no room for manoeuvre on the demands that would leave only two courses: total capitulation by Qatar and its return to the Gulf Arab fold, as a meek and much reduced national figure; or a defiant Qatar expelled from the GCC and quite possibly becoming a dependent ally of Iran's. Qatar's critics may yet regret what they have started.

When Peace Is A Commodity: Trump In The Middle East

May 27, 2017 Robert Fisk, www.counterpunch.org Educate! Donald Trump, Middle East, Peace

By Robert Fisk for Counter Punch - In Riyadh, Trump couldn’t mention where most of the the 9/11 hijackers came from or whose Sunni cult-faith was the inspiration for Isis – nor which country chopped off heads with Isis-like relish. (Answer: Saudi Arabia). And when he arrived in Israel on Monday, Trump was faced with a new censorship protocol: don’t mention who was occupying whose property in the West Bank or which country was outrageously and continuously stealing land – legally owned by Arabs – for Jews and Jews only. (Answer: Israel). So bingo, in the biggest Middle East alliance ever created in history, the Saudis and the other Sunni Arab dictators and America’s crackpot President and Israel’s cynical Prime Minister have all agreed on the identity of the devil country they can all curse with one voice, inspirer of “world terror”, instigator of Middle East instability, the greatest threat to world peace: Shia Iran. So within a few minutes of landing at Tel Aviv airport – part of whose runways actually lies on land legally owned by Palestinian Arabs 60 years ago – the Trump speechwriters (for Trump surely cannot write this stuff) were churning out once more their hatred of Iran, of Iran’s “terror”, of Iran’s plots, of Iran’s continuing desire to make a nuclear bomb.

Islamic State: The Genesis Of A Sectarian Frankenstein

May 24, 2017 Nauman Sadiq, www.popularresistance.org Educate! ISIS, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Wars and Militarism

By Nauman Sadiq. Looking at the Islamic State’s astounding gains in Syria and Iraq in 2014, a question arises that where does its recruits get all the training and state-of-the-art weapons that are imperative not only for hit-and-run guerrilla warfare but also for capturing and holding large swathes of territory? The Syria experts of foreign policy think tanks also seem to be quite “worried” these days that where do the Islamic State’s jihadists get all the sophisticated weapons and especially those fancy Toyota pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns at the back, colloquially known as “the Technicals” amongst jihadists? According to a revelatory December 2013 news report [2] from a newspaper affiliated with the UAE government which supports the Syrian opposition: it is clearly mentioned that along with AK-47s, RPGs and other military gear, the Saudi regime also provides machine gun-mounted Toyota pick-up trucks to every batch of five jihadists who have completed their training in the training camps located at the border regions of Jordan.

Middle Eastern Surgeon Speaks About The ‘Ecology Of War’

May 1, 2017 Andre Vltchek, www.countercurrents.org Educate! Middle East, Wars and Militarism

By Andre Vltchek for Counter Currents - Dr. Gus Abu-Sitta is the head of the Plastic Surgery Department at the AUB Medical Center in Lebanon. He specializes in: reconstructive surgery. What it means in this part of the world is clear: they bring you people from the war zones, torn to pieces, missing faces, burned beyond recognition, and you have to try to give them their life back. Dr. Abu-Sitta is also a thinker. A Palestinian born in Kuwait, he studied and lived in the UK, and worked in various war zones of the Middle East, as well as in Asia, before accepting his present position at the AUB Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon. We were brought together by peculiar circumstances. Several months ago I burned my foot on red-hot sand, in Southeast Asia. It was healing slowly, but it was healing. Until I went to Afghanistan where at one of the checkpoints in Herat I had to take my shoes off, and the wound got badly infected. Passing through London, I visited a hospital there, and was treated by one of Abu-Sitta’sformer professors. When I said that among other places I work in Lebanon,he recommended that I visit one of his “best students who now works in Beirut”.

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